Not long ago, a gorgeous aspiring model named Bethany Townsend showed the world she -- and anyone else suffering from Crohn's disease -- has nothing to be ashamed of when she posed in a sexy bikini that exposed her colostomy bags. Bethany did a wonderful thing by both spreading awareness for the disease and, possibly, encouraging other women with colostomy bags to walk proudly and not let the bags define them.
Now men with the same condition have their own hot spokesmodel (and we ladies get to enjoy some eye candy). Blake Beckford is a male British fitness model whose amazing body is being splashed all over mags -- colostomy bag and all.
Blake was diagnosed with chronic bowel disease when he was 19, which caused him to lose weight at a time when he was focused on building muscle so that he could enter fitness competitions. He had to take medication and couldn't eat many foods, which also affected his fitness goals.
He says he dealt with this condition, which continued to get worse, for 10 years before he had surgery. Doctors removed his large bowel and small intestine to create an opening where his waste could go. He didn't think he'd ever be able to work out intensely again. Here's how Blake looked right after his surgery:
But he proved himself -- and everyone else -- wrong by keeping his eye on the prize and exercising whenever and however he could.
As you can see from this photo, it worked:
Blake doesn't just look good, he is giving back. On his website, he shares his inspirational story with others and helps raise money and awareness for Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
Blake has inner and outer beauty -- basically, the total package.
What do you think of these images of Blake with his colostomy bag?
Images via blake_beckford/Instagram